[A phase II study of vindesine for pretreated non-small cell lung cancer]

A phase II evaluation of vindesine (VDS) was performed in 16 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (ten patients with adenocarcinoma, six patients with squamous cell carcinoma, and one patient with large cell carcinoma). All except one of the patients had had prior chemotherapy. VDS at a dose of 3 mg/m2 was given intravenously every week for more than three weeks. Among 16 evaluable patients, two patients with pretreated adenocarcinoma of the lung showed partial response. The response rate for VDS was 12.5%. Toxic effects included leukopenia (94%), anemia (44%), thrombopenia (13%), alopecia (38%), peripheral neurotoxicity (38%), liver injury (19%), constipation (13%), anorexia (13%), nausea (13%), stomatitis (6%) and fever (6%).